Nevada County picayune., 1887-06-08
The Good Old Days" Humbug.
Evidence That They Were Not What They
 Are Said to Have Been.

when there were no Steallooa's' but all travel on the water was done by the slow, uncertain means of sailing vessels, when II one started for New York it was doubt. ful if he would reach there Tn a day or n week. Now we know how many hours and minutes tire ouires to make the trip.
 Men now 60 years old, remem- Der when there were no railroads, but all travel on land was done by stages, by wagons. by OK teams, on horseback and on foot. Now a network of railroads covers the whole country, ano several lines run from the Atlantic to the Pa cific ocean. Now itrequires only six or seven days to cross the con- tineut. Formerly that trip requlr- ed three months.
 Men 90 years old remember when no photographs, but only paintings and drawi ngs, made at great prices. of objects now done better in an instant at trlfllng cost.
 Men of that age also remember when no steam boats crossed the ocean, and it was believed that they never could, but hundreds of steamships are now blowing every ocean, reducing the time of cross ing the Atlantic from weeks to days.
 Men 4j years old remember when there was no electric plating, but everything in that line was done m the old fashioned. slow way.
 Men of that age also remember when there were no telegraphS, but all messages had to be sent by the slow going malls
 Men D years old remember when there were no telephone, but all the messages now spoken through them had to be sent by note or special messenger.
 All these grand and useful ln- ventions have been made within the memory of men now living. The younger generation can hev- CT appreciate them as those do who remember the want of them and therefore the great convent ence they are to the world.
 We often hear of "the good old days of yore." Why deprive our children Of the enjoy ment of those old days! Why not pass a law forbidding steambOatS from blow ing the waters, railroads from rnn- ming on land, telegraphs from sen ding messages. telephones from beng used, all furnaces, steam heaters, etc, to be taken ont Of houses and other buildings, all grates for burning coal to be taken out, all stoves to be melted for old iron, all waterworks in cities to be left empty, the use af all gas and other illuminators, except dipped tallow candles, to be dis continued. and really go back to the good old times," say for five years. Then, if at midnight on a cold, stormy night doctor IS wan ted, he must be sent for instead of telephoning for him. If one wishes to send message to a dis tance. instead of telegraphing he must write a letter and send by stages to a distant place and wait patiently for days or week for the answer.
 When one goes home on freez- ing night he can sit by a wood fire, roasting on one side while freezing tn Q other, and reading by the dim light of a tallow dip in- stead of the blaze of a gaslight or the more agreeable light of kero. Scne. If he undertakes a journey instead Of getting into ears and going wher" he wishes. the hest thing he can do is To take stage at four times the cost and ten times the discomfort of the ears. Let these and other modern improve ments he forbidden and the good old days" he brought back how long wonld it he before an extra session of the legislature would be demandedNo knock the "good old days" into splinterS. and to restore the much better modern days which we now enjoy. and for which we ought to be most de- voutly thankful.-B Bridgeport Stan